In the following positive excerpt, Champlin explores Cornwell's detailed use of forensic procedures in All That Remains.

Patricia Cornwell has taken a controlling interest in the latest sub-genre of crime fiction: forensic procedurals. Cornwell's third novel about Dr. Kay Scarpetta, Richmond's chief medical examiner (All That Remains, is already a best-seller, offered by three book clubs and two audiocassette firms.

As before, the abundant forensic detail, rich this time in the eloquent revelations of microscopic fibers and DNA analysis of blood and tissue, has a lurid fascination along with its impressive testimony about the new tools crime-solvers have on their side. Dick Tracy's wrist radio no longer quite measures up.

A serial killer, operating over a period of years, with interruptions, has been knocking off couples, including a pair of young women, leaving them shoeless, bound and...